


Falls Like Water

by orphan_account



Category: Backstreet Boys, NSYNC
Genre: Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-10
Updated: 2010-03-10
Packaged: 2017-10-07 20:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/69094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>JC and Nick, a bathroom stall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Falls Like Water

JC didn't really like parties anymore. He felt tired in them, especially when the record execs came along and talked to him like he was still 19, and for the sake of future connections, JC felt that he had to humour them. If he ever had kids, he knew that he would try not to talk down to them. It was exhausting pretending to be stupid.

He looked around and saw that it was like every other party that Jive ever had, with posters of all the acts and women in short dresses and men who looked like rent boys in v-neck ribbed shirts. Lance happened to be wearing an olive green v-neck ribbed shirt underneath his jacket. JC shook his head to clear it.

Nick Carter walked in along with the rest of the Backstreet Boys just at that moment, with Nick grinning and putting his arms around Kevin. For a moment, Nick seemed to bare his teeth in something like a grin and something like defiance. He was wearing a shirt that had laces at the collar that had to be tied up. JC liked it.

Out of range, he heard Lance's low rumble of laughter. "Basstronaut. I like that. Maybe I can trademark it."

***

 

Nick grabbed his hand, grumbled something that sounded like hello, and turned to talk to Howie. JC thought it was Howie, because he really couldn't remember anything else. It was as if he had a piece of burning coal in his hand and instead of letting go, he clenched it tighter.

"Dude," Joey said beside him. "What's with you? Your arms are all tense and veiny. And kinda gross. You have a lot of veins."

"I don't know," JC said. He really didn't, but the feel of his hand, still on fire minutes afterward was a clue. He told himself to relax. Joey massaged his back with sure fingers under his jacket until JC breathed out.

"Better?" Joey asked.

"Much. And my arms are like that because I work out."

"And the way they look is one of the reasons why I don't." Joey got closer to whisper in his ear. "Kelly hates the way arms like yours look."

***

 

He was at the buffet table looking at hors d'oeuvres when Nick sidled up between him and Chris, who stumbled while he was explaining the wonders of caviar. Caviar was a luxury that Chris liked, one of the first things he bought when he finally had money and found that it was everything everyone said it was.

"Sorry," Nick said, grabbing a blini and putting an obscene amount of caviar on it before rushing away again.

Chris had an eyebrow raised throughout the whole thing.

"Fucking Carter."

"Chris."

"Fucking Carter." He grabbed two blinis and put a small dollop of caviar on both. "Here," he said, extending the other blini to JC.

"You know I don't really like it that much."

"Eat it anyway. It's the principle of the thing. Fucking Carter."

***

 

JC didn't understand much of what Justin said to him except words dirty and dawg and he wasn't sure if those words still meant what they used to mean. He smiled at Justin though, because Justin was finally carving out his own musical path. He felt that bittersweet pang in his chest, always the same clench of heaviness. At one time, he thought that Justin would follow him, but as the bass of the songs Justin liked got heavier, JC realized that they were splitting apart musically.

Without the music, there wasn't much left. One day, JC just ran out of things to say.

He saw Nick swaying to the beat of the remix of _Girlfriend_. JC coughed to hide a chuckle.

"What?" Justin asked.

"Nick's dancing to _Girlfriend_."

Justin looked and smiled with pity, which JC didn't understand.

"I feel sorry for him sometimes," Justin said. "I hate saying it, but right now, we really are better than they are."

JC clamped down hard on what he wanted to say to Justin. They still had something to talk about after all.

***

 

JC wanted to escape. The only escape was the bathroom, so he put his drink down and navigated his way through the crush of suits and barely concealed breasts.

Nick was in there, lathering his hands with soap very deliberately.

"Hey JC."

"Hey." JC walked to the nearest urinal.

"You've been watching me," Nick said.

JC froze. In retrospect, he realized he was, but it always felt like he had just happened to see.

The flush of water from the faucet Nick was using was a welcome distraction. JC zipped up and went to the sink to wash his hands. He made sure to leave a sink between them.

"I don't mind," Nick said. The laces on Nick's shirt were undone, and JC knew he was being obvious but he couldn't help it. He stared at the pale triangle of flesh revealed for what seemed like hours before he got a hold of himself.

"Sorry."

"Not a problem." Nick turned off the faucet and placed his hands under the dryer. JC desperately tried to come up with something witty or glib. He kept track of Nick, who was walking around the bathroom after drying his hands. Nick opened a stall and waited there with an expectant look. "Let's not waste time."

And JC didn't want to. He turned off the faucet and dried his hands on his pants. He tried not to run in the stall, but his steps were quick anyway. Nick slammed the door shut behind him.

They stared at each other for a few minutes, nervous tension in the air, neither backing down.

"Fuck this," Nick said. "Tails goes down." He grabbed a coin out of his pocket and flipped it in the air. Either way it landed, JC didn't really care. Their hands were deft on each other's zippers.

 

THE END


End file.
